If you are still using some of the old 32-bit apps on your iPhone, it's time you find alternative 62-bit apps in place of them because the company is going to drop its support for old 32-bit apps in iOS 11, which will be rolled out in September this year.
Most of the apps that were released before 2014 have remained 32-bit and not been updated by the developers. While some key applications such as Facebook and Twitter were updated, around 200,000 were not and they will not make the cut anymore following the launch of iOS 11, which means no Flappy Bird for you.
Other Flappy Bird, this move will also hit a lot of old games very hard. Flight Control, Canabalt and Civilization Revolution 2 are among the endangered apps and they will die unless someone steps in and updates them.
This situation indeed puts the users at a loss and also the developers would suffer immensely.
Is it too late?
However, there are other ways Apple can use to save these games. For example, creating an emulator, which we have recently seen when Nintendo released NES Classic, a replica of its first ever gaming system, stuffed with 30 cherished early games. It could be a good inspiration for Apple to use emulators. The company can also make its software open source, so that, volunteers can make emulators themselves. However, both these options seem unlikely for Apple to choose from, as planned obsolescence has always been the tech giant's strategy. It needs the iPhones to sell with updated specs.
Some classic apps' developers are stepping up themselves to update and keep the apps alive. Canadian gaming company Beamdog has pursued a business model that focuses on updating old favorites for modern gamers. It's work recently included updating hit games like Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, and Icewind Dale for the coming iOS. It was a "huge piece of technical work given our code base started all the way back in 1995," said Philip Daigle, Beamdog's studio director.
Unfortunately, this is not the case for all the classic apps and it's not even possible for most of the developers. These classic games and apps are pieces of history and we might lose them this coming September. Let's just hope for the best.
